The variety of college students enrolled on the College of Alabama at Birmingham Faculty of Public Well being jumped 61 % in 2020, reflecting the “Fauci impact” and the prominence of public well being professionals through the pandemic.
Enrollment in epidemiology, the research of how illnesses unfold, jumped 92 % at UAB.
“It’s no shock {that a} worldwide pandemic created curiosity within the area of public well being,” mentioned Dr. Paul Erwin, dean of the UAB Faculty of Public Well being.
In keeping with U.S. Information and World Report, the UAB Faculty of Public Well being ranks seventeenth within the nation. The varsity presents undergraduate and graduate applications in epidemiology, biostatistics, well being behaviors and coverage.
The elevated curiosity in public well being professions was higher in Alabama than in different components of the nation. In keeping with the Affiliation of Faculties and Packages of Public Well being, purposes to graduate applications elevated by simply 23 % nationwide final 12 months in comparison with 2019.
Throughout the nation, curiosity in well being careers rose through the pandemic. Purposes to medical faculties additionally elevated in 2020 as well being professionals battled the unfold of COVID-19.
The virus turned Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Illnesses, into a star. Native and state well being officers additionally emerged as key figures through the pandemic, usually enacting drastic restrictions on companies and people to regulate the unfold of COVID.
Haley Greene, an epidemiologist on the Virginia Division of Well being, graduated from the UAB Faculty of Public Well being in 2020. She mentioned the pandemic formed the pursuits of a number of college students in her class.
“I’ve observed a number of public well being college students change their curiosity in power illness to infectious illness, together with an inflow of people interested by public well being careers,” Greene mentioned. “I imagine it’s an thrilling time for early-career public well being professionals, as there are numerous alternatives now and into the longer term.”
